The present invention relates generally to data routing systems, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for providing secure communications on a network.
A packet switch communication system includes a network of one or more routers connecting a plurality of users. A packet is the fundamental unit of transfer in the packet switch communication system. A user can be an individual user terminal or another network. A router is a switching device which receives packets containing data or control information on one port, and based on destination information contained within the packet, routes the packet out another port to the destination (or intermediary destination). Conventional routers perform this switching function by evaluating header information contained within the packet in order to determine the proper output port for a particular packet.
The network can be an intranet, that is, a network connecting one or more private servers such as a local area network (LAN). Alternatively, the network can be a public network, such as the Internet, in which data packets are passed over untrusted communication links. The network configuration can include a combination of public and private networks. For example, two or more LAN's can be coupled together with individual terminals using a public network such as the Internet. When public and private networks are linked, data security issues arise. More specifically, conventional packet switched communication systems that include links between public and private networks typically include security measures for assuring data integrity.
In order to assure individual packet security, packet switched communication systems can include encryption/decryption services. Prior to leaving a trusted portion of a network, individual packets can be encrypted to minimize the possibility of data loss while the packet is transferred over the untrusted portion of the network (the public network). Upon receipt at a destination or another trusted portion of the communication system, the packet can be decrypted and subsequently delivered to a destination. The use of encryption and decryption allows for the creation of a virtual private network (VPN) between users separated by untrusted communication links.
In addition to security concerns for the data transferred over the public portion of the communication system, the private portions of the network must safeguard against intrusions through the gateway provided at the interface of the private and the public networks. A firewall is a device that can be coupled in-line between a public network and private network for screening packets received from the public network. Referring now to FIG. 1a, a conventional packet switch communication system 100 can include two private networks 102 coupled by a public network 104 for facilitating the communication between a plurality of user terminals 106. Each private network can include one or more servers and a plurality of individual terminals. Each private network 102 can be an intranet such as a LAN. Public network 104 can be the Internet, or other public network having untrusted links for linking packets between private networks 102a and 102b. At each gateway between a private network 102 and public network 104 is a firewall 110. The architecture for a conventional firewall is shown in FIG. 1b. 
Firewall 110 includes a public network link 120, private network link 122 and memory controller 124 coupled by a bus (e.g., PCI bus) 125. Memory controller 124 is coupled to a memory (RAM) 126 and firewall engine 128 by a memory bus 129. Firewall engine 128 performs packet screening prior to routing packets through to private network 102. A central processor (CPU) 132 is coupled to memory controller 124 by a CPU bus 134. CPU 132 oversees the memory transfer operations on all buses shown. Memory controller 124 is a bridge connecting CPU Bus 134, memory bus 129 and PC1 bus 125.
Packets are received at public network link 120. Each packet is transferred on bus 125 to, and routed through, memory controller 124 and on to RAM 126 via memory bus 129. When firewall engine 128 is available, packets are fetched using memory bus 129 and processed by the firewall engine 128. After processing by the firewall engine 128, the packet is returned to RAM 126 using memory bus 129. Finally, the packet is retrieved by the memory controller 124 using memory bus 129, and routed to private network link 122.
Unfortunately this type of firewall is inefficient in a number of ways. A majority of the traffic in the firewall utilizes memory bus 129. However, at any time, memory bus 129 can allow only one transaction. Thus, memory bus 129 becomes a bottleneck for the whole system and limits system performance.
The encryption and decryption services as well as authentication services performed by firewall engine 128 typically are performed in series. That is, a packet is typically required to be decrypted prior to authentication. Serial processes typically slow performance.
A conventional software firewall can sift through packets when connected through a T-1 or fractional T-1 link. But at T-3, Ethernet, or fast Ethernet speeds software-based firewalls running on an average desktop PC can get bogged down.